Amazon pays $4 million for limited edition J.K. Rowling book

Amazon.com made the winning bid of $3.98 million via London dealer Hazlitt, Gooden, and Fox, in an auction of the book titled <i>The Tales of Beedle the Bard</i>, which was mentioned in the last Harry Potter book.

Amazon.com made the winning bid of $3.98 million via London dealer Hazlitt, Gooden, and Fox, in an auction of the book titled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which was mentioned in the last Harry Potter book.

One of just seven copies, of which six were given to people closely connected to the Harry Potter series, all proceeds from the sale will go to the Children's Voice, a charity that Rowling co-founded in 2005 to help vulnerable children across Europe.

"Even before establishing her charity," Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement late on Thursday, "J.K. Rowling had done the world a rare and immeasurably valuable service — enlarging forever our concept of the way books can touch people — and in particular children — in modern times."

Amazon has posted several pictures of the book, as well as a review of one tale called "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" on its Web site. Amazon plans to post reviews of all five tales found in the book.

It is unclear of Amazon's motivation to acquire this limited edition book beyond publicity, and perhaps donating to a charity. Or maybe Jeff Bezos is a Harry Potter fan.

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About Paul Mah

Paul Mah is a writer and blogger who lives in Singapore, where he has worked for a number of years in various capacities within the IT industry. Paul enjoys tinkering with tech gadgets, smartphones, and networking devices.

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Paul Mah is a writer and blogger who lives in Singapore, where he has worked for a number of years in various capacities within the IT industry. Paul enjoys tinkering with tech gadgets, smartphones, and networking devices.